The Storm
by RandomAbadon
Summary: Ahsoka gets caught out in a storm and Rex can't stop worrying he breaks down and goes looking for her, but what will he find? and how much longer is this strom going to last anyway? Rexsoka oneshot


**This is going to be another one of Zany's oneshot's I seem to like those lately don't worry I'll try and get back to writing a good long regular story...as soon as I can figure out what to write about.. For now enjoy my little oneshot! R&R please!**

**Pairings:Rex/Ahsoka **

**Refrences to: No Prisoners, The Deserter, impiled refrece to Clone Wars Gambit: Stealth.**

It was crazy, no one in their right mind would go in that storm. Rex wasn't sure he was _in_ his right mind at the moment though. Something inside him was terrified, worried, and anxious all at the same time.

"General Skywalker." Rex looked at the flickering hologram desperate for one piece of information. "Did Commander Ahsoka get to your base before this storm set in? She left about ten minutes ago, so unless she ran into something she should be there right?" Rex swallowed hard. They were on some forsaken ice planet that's name escaped Rex at the moment, and there were two republic bases, about five miles apart, so Skywalker went to check out the other base while Rex had stayed here with a few troops, rumor had it that Seps were in the area. A short while ago Ahsoka had left to rendezvous with her master, but soon after she left a wicked blizzard had suddenly left them in a white-out.

The hologram flickered, the storm must be interfering. Anakin looked worried his eyes narrowed slightly. "No, I was hoping she turned around once this storm set in."

So, Ahsoka was out there. Rex looked out the viewport he couldn't see anything but endless white. He nodded at Skywalker and began to walk away.

"Rex." Skywalker's voice was pained as if he was stopping himself from saying something. "Please, I couldn't stand it to lose both of you." He was speaking quietly. General Skywalker knew him too well Rex decided. Then again Skywalker hadn't ordered Rex _not_ to go looking for Ahsoka.

"I know general." Skywalker seemed to see that Rex had made up his mind.

"May the Force be with you then." The hologram flickered off and Rex jumped on a speeder with a grim kind of purpose.

Ahsoka couldn't see anything through the pure white blinding her. Shouldn't she have gotten there by now? What was goi

* * *

ng on? Through the sheer _whiteness _she saw something that unnerved her. A blood red lightsaber wasn't the easiest thing to hide in a blanket of white. She leapt from the speeder when she realized how fast it was traveling. Ventress sliced her speeder which exploded seconds after Ahsoka had jumped. She grabbed her lightsaber and ignited it, looking for the assassin, painfully aware how visible her green lightsaber made her.

"Well, well." Ahsoka shivered at the voice, as she glimpsed Ventress standing a short way off both lightsabers drawn. "Are you lost in the storm, _little girl_?" Even through the howling wind Ahsoka could hear the audible crunch of her boots.

"What are you doing here on this rock, Ventress?" Ahsoka narrowed her eyes trying to see if she was in a position to strike.

"That's not for you to know. You really shouldn't stick your nose in things that aren't your business, youngling." Suddenly Ventress's voice was behind her Ahsoka spun fast her emerald green blade drawn in a defensive position.

The fight broke out. Ahsoka was frustrated that her senses were dulled by the endless howling wind and thick snow. The heavy winter clothes made it difficult to dodge and dart around. She wasn't used to fighting like this. Of course all of these things were disadvantages for her opponent as well. Suddenly Ahsoka felt like she had been shoved hard and went flying as Ventress Force pushed her into a snow drift. Ahsoka struggled to locate her lightsaber but as soon as she looked up she was staring at a crimson blade.

"Such a pity. It's too bad your master's going to have to find a new pet, isn't it?" There was a hint of a smirk in her voice. Ahsoka opened her mouth, but all that came out was a startled cry. "He'll never know"

"W-What?" Ahsoka asked.

"Your master won't even know it was me, that's what saddens me the most, just that his padawan got lost in a storm." She sighed. "And I was looking forward to his reaction, too bad." Ventress raised the saber. "Make your peace with the Force, _little _Jedi"

* * *

Rex couldn't see a thing. How the heck did he expect himself to find Ahsoka in _this_? What had he been thinking? Suddenly Rex thought he saw something. A glint of color. Red and green. A thousand horrible scenarios played in his head of what was going on. He sped toward the fight. but not fast enough.

* * *

Ventress's head snapped up as soon as Ahsoka was sure she was about to die, she gave frustrated sigh and pulled out a comlink.

"_What_?" She hissed.

"We won't be able to attack until the storm let's up, _what_ are you doing out there Ventress?" Ahsoka pressed herself deeper into the snow, that was Count Dooku's voice.

"I'm sorry, master, but I have good news."

"What?" Dooku sounded irritable

"I found Skywalker's youngling wandering all by herself, so that means the Jedi are on to us."

"I thought you said good news."

"Well, I don't know, do you want me to capture her or kill her?" Ventress lowered the hologram to Ahsoka who was staring at it in a kind of dumbstruck terror.

Dooku eyed her. "Leave her in the snow, the temperature's dropping fast and the storm's not letting up, we have better things to do." Ventress stood up.

"Fine." she hissed and then she left on her speeder without looking back. Ahsoka blinked a few flakes out of her eyes, she couldn't believe her luck! She stood and after a few minutes of searching, she found her lightsaber. Ahsoka shivered in the cold. She had no idea where she was and Dooku had been right about the temperature.

"Hello!" She called out but her voice was snatched away by the wind. She stumbled forward in the cold blindly hoping it was the direction of the base. Something tripped her, she made no attempt to stand after falling in the snow. The storm was too harsh for a search party and she would probably freeze to death out here. At the thought a few tears streaked down her cheek before freezing.

"Master Skyguy, Rex..." She sobbed into the snow. knowing nobody could hear her, would they even find her body after the storm? She decided not to dwell on the thought. At least she wouldn't die violently she almost laughed to herself on that one, how _optimistic_. She looked up into the white abyss and closed her eyes.

* * *

Rex saw the colors flash and change. He grew increasingly alarmed when he couldn't see Ahsoka's blade, but he always seemed to see Ventress's. Suddenly he saw nothing. Quickly he slowed his speeder. He coasted slower for a while looking around the storm was still harsh, but it had let up for a brief moment. Rex saw a blackened part of the snow that suggested an explosion and speeder parts lying about. He parked his own speeder and continued on foot. The snow was kicked up in several spots and fresh quickly disappearing foot prints were present. Rex walked on, beginning to wonder what he would find. A brief image of Ahsoka's small body in the snow entered his mind. He tried to shake it off, but it bothered him. The image flashed again he imagined her face frozen in pain, or terror. Rex became increasingly disturbed. He was friends with Ahsoka, sure friends worried about each other. This was normal right? He searched more frantically. He noticed there was an impression in a snowdrift he passed like someone had either dug into it or had been shoved deep into the snow, he suspected the latter. He looked around soon he caught a glimpse of what looked like Ahsoka's coat in the snow. He had found her. He broke into a run and kneeled down beside her. _Oh no, oh no_. Rex's mind was blank he could hardly think. Without thinking he took off one of his gloves and pressed it against her cheek. Her skin wasn't just cool to the touch like it normally was-Togrutas had strangely cool skin compared to humans like him-it was like ice.

"Commander?" He put one of his gloved hands on her shoulder and shook it gently as though he was waking her.

"Ahsoka?" He felt her stir slightly he noticed she was breathing, and felt instant relief wash over him briefly. He realized his hand was numbing and pulled his glove back on and rubbed his hands together to warm them. The storm was picking up again, he would need to get her out of here. He picked her up carrying her in both arms. He couldn't stop himself from looking at her, she seemed so much smaller then she normally did, so much more vulnerable and young. She was also lighter then Rex imagined she would be. Rex couldn't see the speeder and the storm was too harsh to walk. Then he noticed a craggy outcropping for a moment. He walked toward it hoping that it would shelter Ahsoka and him from the wind a little. It turned out that it wasn't an outcropping, but a cave. He walked a short way in, enough that he could still see daylight. Then he sat back and waited, there was nothing else to do.

* * *

Ahsoka realized she was alive, she realized this when she had finally gotten warm enough to not be numb anymore._ Ouch_ you know that feeling in your hands after they're really cold then suddenly warm, and it _hurts,_ well she hurt all over. She kept her eyes closed until the feeling passed. She didn't know if she was awake or not though the pain suggested she was conscious. Then she sensed another presence near her. She was instantly alert. She reached out in the Force trying to see who they were did she know them and if they were good. She sensed a warmth of kindness, the presence was comforting and familiar, friendly. All of this passed in a matter of seconds, and she opened her eyes not needing them to know who it was.

"Rex?" she sat up slowly still feeling the bitter cold tingling on her fingers and arms. Suddenly there was a hand on her back supporting her up until she was leaning against the cave wall. Wait...Cave? Last thing she remembered was endless snow and a overcoming feeling of helplessness and loneliness. She blinked at Rex for a moment. He..Saved her? For a moment she was almost upset with him. Why did he have this _belief_ that her life was above his? She had told him before on a mission once...

_"Rex, _come on_! Master Skywalker is just over the hill! Come on, Rex!"_

_"Don't worry about me commander, just go."_

_"Rex, don't be stupid, I can't leave you."_

_"I'm expendable commander, technically speaking, I'm not worth anything."_ She had gotten mad at him for that. Rex _wasn't_ expendable, not to her anyway and he shouldn't be to anyone else. That must be what he was thinking again, what with the storm.

"Are you okay, commander?" Rex asked, his hand was still on her back steadying her.

"Yeah I think so...Thanks Rex..but how-"

"Even in the snow you could see the lightsabers from a mile out."

"Ahh." Ahsoka nodded slightly embarrassed. _He must think Ventress beat me.._ "Next question, why were you looking for me? You could've been _killed_ in a storm like this!"

"Well-"

"Rex, if you think for one second you're going to give me crap about your being expendable don't say anything!"

Rex seemed thoughtful for a moment even with his helmet on Ahsoka could see the tilt of his chin. "Would you be mad if I said I was looking for a very good friend of mine?" he offered

It was Ahsoka's turn to look thoughtful. "No I guess not." She smiled at him. "So what's the situation?" She asked, business as normal.

"Well it seems we're going to be stuck here with nothing until the storm passes, we can't even contact General Skywalker anymore."

"Well okay I guess I can live with that, as long as neither of us get you know, hungry or thirsty we can sit the storm out." Ahsoka leaned against Rex he seemed to jump a little like he wasn't expecting her to lean her head on his shoulder, or perhaps he had no idea how to react to it. They listened to the wind blowing for a few minutes just sitting in silence.

"You really scared me, kid" Rex's tone was serious now. "When I saw you in the snow unconscious I-I thought-"He cut off. "General Skywalker had a bit of a scare too, before I left."

"He just _let_ you leave and look for me?" Ahsoka's voice held disbelief.

"Well, he was pretty upset but he just gave up and knew there was nothing he could do." Rex chuckled. "Even a few of the troops offered to go instead of me."

"So, why _did_ you go?"

He hesitated. "I'm not sure, it's just I felt I had to know. I would go crazy not knowing if you were okay or not." He sighed. "On missions with just General Skywalker I can't-" He stopped and turned toward her.

"What?" Ahsoka was looking at him with her huge blue eyes, Rex felt in that moment he could finally voice his feelings.

"I can't stop wondering about what you're doing. I can't stop thinking if something's happened..." He blurted out. He turned away from her. "I know about your Jedi rules and all but I can't stop myself from worrying..."Ahsoka just listened she didn't frown or look upset with him she just waited for him to finish.. He gave her a sad smile under his helmet, then took it off.

Ahsoka wound her fingers in Rex's he forced himself not to move, not to shiver by what he felt at the merest touch of her hand even through the gloves. they could both feel it now, the current of strong emotions between them electric, raw and undefined. Rex looked into her eyes. They seemed so intense, he had never seen the ocean, but perhaps it would be the same color as her eyes. No. That wasn't it. Her eyes were the color of a summer sky. Rex couldn't tell if she was lost in thought or if she was reaching out, but she closed her eyes and leaned against him again, this time he didn't move. Her fingers were still intertwined with his, and his heart was beating so loud the Seps must've heard it.

"Rex?"

"Yes, Commander?"

"Thanks. For everything, for being my friend this whole time and for looking out for me." She looked up at him. "I-I know what you mean," Rex raised an eyebrow. "You've scared me too, like when I heard about you getting shot on Saleucami when Master Kenobi was looking for Grievous." The mention brought forth memories of Cut and Suu, a clone deserter and a Twi'lek. If they could be together why couldn't he and Ahsoka? Rex already knew the answer though, she was a _Jedi_ and therefore off-limits, plus she was his Commander and unlike Cut and Suu, they had duties to perform for the Republic. Then Rex thought about it, it was almost unfair if he had been a normal ageing being and she had been any girl they could be together. But he would never be a normal boy and she would never be any girl. Ahsoka's voice snapped him out of his reverie.

"And when _you_ go on missions without me I get worried about what _you're_ doing." He put a hand on her shoulder.

"I get it, are you saying that..." but Rex couldn't finish something inside him couldn't.

"We love each other?" She offered. "Even if it was unintentional on both our parts." She shook her head. "But you know.." She tightened her grip on his hand giving it a gentle squeeze. "We may never get to be alone like this again." He noticed the stripes on her head-tails darken, a blush.

"Yeah, stuck in a cave on some forsaken rock of an ice world." Rex laughed. "Terribly _romantic_ isn't it?" She gave him a playful shove rolling her eyes, and the tension broke for a moment, this was normal. They understood this level of their friendship. She squeaked when he playfully leaned toward her until their noses were touching. Then she pushed him away.

"I was serious!" but then she burst out laughing again. Suddenly there was a rumble like a small earthquake and they fell silent. They passed the time briefly but soon the sky outside was visibly darker, it had been hours and the temperature was dropping again. Ahsoka was shivering.

"Ahsoka are you okay?" She looked up from her pacing and smiled a little.

"Just c-cold I guess." She yawned. They didn't have any firewood, and if they fell asleep they could freeze to death easily. She sat down beside Rex again. He pulled her close to him Ahsoka leaned her head on his shoulder and they sat. Ahsoka looked up at him.

"Calm down." She murmured. Rex took a deep breath but he could still feel his heart pounding in his ears. He wondered if he would ever get used to that, every time she was close he felt so jumpy it was almost as if he was in battle with adrenaline being dumped in his veins.

"Sorry, Ahsoka." For some reason it seemed so much easier to use her name in the past five hours they'd been in the cave together. Who knew? He gently caressed one of her head-tails for a moment. How long had they been there, how much longer would it be? Rex had hardly realized her breathing deepen until she almost fell. He picked her up again, like when he had found her in the snow, and she slept. He noticed now that she looked the same and yet entirely different from when he had found her. She still looked smaller and younger in sleep. But now she also looked more peaceful. For now in this moment, nothing else mattered to Rex, not General Skywalker, not the war, nothing except Ahsoka and him. With the endless wind and nothingness that seemed to go on forever it was too easy to imagine they were the only ones in the universe. He looked down at the padawan in his arms. Then he softly pressed his lips to her cheek just resting there for a long moment. It could have been hours or days or seconds but time had no more meaning for him. The electric current rose up again at their touch. Rex now thought back and realized it had always been there. He closed his eyes thinking of when she had looked so afraid and had grasped his hand. He had felt like something had connected him to something much larger he had felt that current now too. He wondered if it was because she was force sensitive or if it was because she had trusted him or was friends with him or something. Rex leaned against the side of the cave for a while.

* * *

Anakin looked out into the nothingness and sighed. When would it let up? He couldn't even contact the other base to ask if Rex or Ahsoka had made it back yet. He sighed again and began to pace quickly. A while ago he had sensed Ventress's presence and it had disturbed him, but he could still sense that Rex and Ahsoka were alive, that was a relief.

"General..?" One of the clones was standing nearby fidgeting nervously, must be a shiny. Anakin glanced out of the corner of his eye to see the markings on the clone's armor for a second to identify him.

"No there's nothing we can do, but sit here. Sorry, trooper." Anakin answered before the young clone could even ask. The storm was even worse than when Rex has left, that seemed so long ago. Anakin began to pace again.

_I can't stand this! Isn't there anything to do!_ He felt like he would explode if he has to spend _one more_ second stuck here not knowing if Rex and Ahsoka were alright or where they were.

"Ugh, that's it!" A few of the clones jumped. "We're going to find them I don't care about the storm!" If Obi-wan were here he would've said Anakin was being irrational risking so many lives for just two, but he couldn't leave his padawan and captain out to die..right? If he was attached he didn't care, he couldn't take it anymore.

* * *

Ahsoka was awake and it was her turn to take watch, Rex insisted that he was fine and didn't need sleep. Ahsoka smiled _yes_, it was a stupid trick to try and pull rank on Rex, and they'd both started laughing as soon as she said it was an order. It actually had become something of a joke between them since the first time they met she had tried to pull rank on him. Then she did ask him to get some rest and gotten him to reluctantly agree. She leaned her head on his shoulder. How long had it been? A day? Two days? All she knew is that ration bars couldn't last forever and she was looking forward to a real bed again.

_Skyguy is going to kill me after he calms down and gets over the fact that me and Rex are okay._ She thought to herself. She glanced at Rex and began to think about the Jedi rule of no attachment. Why is attachment bad? She sighed thinking back to the time where Rex, Anakin, and her had an _interesting_ encounter with a _different_ group of Jedi. _They_ had attachments and hadn't been turned to the darkside because of it. It was weird as all get out and freaked Ahsoka out and made Anakin curious. _Anakin_ weird she could think of him like that, but she would never call him that, it would be disrespectful. It wasn't as though calling him Skyguy was any better but still.

Well attachment wouldn't hurt either of them if they starved to death she supposed. Ahsoka licked her lips, even though the snow would have water in it, it would lower their core temperatures and they didn't have anything to start a fire with.

Suddenly she stopped something was different. Then she found out what it was, the wind wasn't howling anymore!

"Rex! Rex! The storm's over!" She shook his shoulder excitedly.

"Huh?" Rex shook his head.

"The storm's finally over!" Rex grunted and stood up. He took off his helmet and smiled.

"That's a relief." Ahsoka grabbed his hand again and they walked out to see the snow.

* * *

The world has been transformed by the storm, it was slightly before dawn as Ahsoka and Rex sat outside their cave, both unwilling to return to their lives yet. Just for a little while longer they would be together. Ahsoka was curled up against Rex and they watched the sun rise. It slowly broke over the horizon on the ice world making everything it touched sparkle like thousands of diamonds. The sky turned from grey to a pale blue.

"The sky's the same color as your eyes right now." Rex said squeezing her hand. Ahsoka thought for a moment.

"Well in an hour it'll be the same color as your armor." She laughed. Rex noticed her eyes seemed to glitter with happiness.

"Okay then, your eyes are sparkling like the snow."

"Fine, you can be sweet, I get it." She pecked him on the cheek giggling for a moment. Then they went back to watching the sun rise.

"We have to get to the base you know." Ahsoka said.

Rex frowned. "I know, but.." Their fingers intertwined "what about us..? You have Jedi rules and all, we're going to be fighting a war."

"I know." She smiled. "We'll just have to live with it."

"Okay if we can never be together it's fine." Rex turned to her, like he did when he was serious. "Whatever happens after we go back, I love you Ahsoka." Then they shared their first and last kiss.

They stood up and as soon as they did, Ahsoka could see speeders in the distance. "Looks like Master Skywalker found us." She sighed. They linked hands and waited a long moment before breaking apart.

"Ahsoka! Rex! I'm so glad to see you both!" Anakin ran to them. Ahsoka and Rex smiled but their minds could not have been farther from the thought of being rescued at last.


End file.
